


It's a Thin Line (between love and hate)

by elrhiarhodan



Series: EoBarry Revealed [7]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Eobarry, Happily Married, M/M, Mild Voyeurism, UST, barrison, confession of love, doppelgangers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 10:42:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6800485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elrhiarhodan/pseuds/elrhiarhodan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A follow up to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/6792019">A Most Improbable Miracle</a>, Barry Allen and Eobard Thawne, sworn enemies, have ripped a hole in the fabric of the multiverse and fallen through.  They declare a short truce and of all things, go for a stroll and find a house.  One too familiar to both of them.  And so are the residents of that house.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's a Thin Line (between love and hate)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [storiesfortravellers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesfortravellers/gifts).



> This was supposed to be the MMOM ficlet for Day 9, for the prompt "Hot" but got a little sidetracked. Blame it on Storiesfortravellers and their comment on that ficlet ([on LJ](http://elrhiarhodan.livejournal.com/590962.html?thread=14599026#t14599026)). 
> 
> Many thanks to Dancesontrains for their superquick and superior beta!

They fight like they always do, the rage driving them both to unthinkable act of violence against each other. It has been like this for centuries, and sometimes – in calmer moments – Barry wonders why they are like this.

Yes, Eobard Thawne murdered his mother. Yes, Eobard Thawne hates him for crimes he'd refuses to name. It's the classic case of the chicken and the egg – which came first?

So they fight and if their battles create ruptures in the multiverse, Cisco – Vibe – is around for the cleanup, smoothing things over with a wave of his too-powerful hand.

But on one memorable occasion, Barry and Eobard both fall, slipping sideways through both time and dimensions.

They land hard, Eobard first, then Barry, half on top of him.

"Ooof, get _off_ me!" Eobard shoves at him.

Barry rolls off the man and springs to his feet, ready to defend, to run, to chase, to fight.

Except Eobard pulls off his cowl and looks at him, disgusted, weary.

Barry stills, wary and concerned. He's not accustomed to that look. "What do you want?"

"A respite – just for a moment."

Barry nods and steps back. Eobard Thawne has proven he can't be trusted, but as long as he remains vigilant, there's no reason not to give the Reverse-Flash the chance to catch his breath. And of course, Thawne has to go and ruin the moment.

"You're such a fucking hero, Flash. You could end me right now."

Barry shrugs. "Or you could just be lulling me into a false sense of security."

Thawne glares at him. "Why are we doing this?"

"I don't know. Maybe because you murdered my mother. Maybe because you've always hated me."

Barry says the first charge by rote. The second has more feeling to it.

"Not always."

Barry clenches his fists and resists the urge to punch his nemesis for that cryptic response. "You know, you've never actually told me why you hate me. Just that I've done things and they are unforgivable."

It's Thawne's turn to shrug.

"Come on, Thawne. We've be at this for centuries. Don't you think it's time you told me?"

"I have told you. I wanted to be the Flash, but I could never – "

Barry cuts him off. "Stop, stop. That's fine if you were sixteen years old and lived your life inside comic books. You're too smart, too capable. You're a damn genius. And although you occasionally have the impulse control of a toddler on a sugar high, I still can't buy this whole obsessed fanboy routine."

Thawne starts walking away and he tosses a hand in the air, dismissing him.

Barry speeds forward, blocking him. "Come on, tell me."

Thawne stares at him and Barry realizes just how close they are – he can't remember the last time they were this close and weren't fighting. He's too close and he can see shame and grief and regret in Eobard Thawne's eyes.

"Tell me what I did, what I've done, the terrible thing that makes you hate me so much."

Thawne shakes his head, "No. No, no, no, no." He pushes past him and keeps walking, as if his connection to the Speed Force is somehow crippled again.

Barry follows and soon enough they are walking silently, side by side. He wonders how long it's going to take for Cisco to find them and open a portal back to their universe.

The air is hot, and there are birds and insects screaming their delight in the summer day. Barry pulls off his gauntlets and unzips his suit – down to the emblem. He feels a little sorry for Thawne, who's stuck in that heavy yellow horror. They slog through the underbrush for a while, until finally, the forest they'd landed in thins out a bit and there are vestiges of civilization. 

A roof line in the distance resolves into a large glass house.

Thawne stops and drops down to the ground, "I know this place."

Barry does, too. It's identical to Harrison Wells' house – where Eobard had lived for a decade and a half while building the particle accelerator. It was a place long gone in their world, in their timeline. This one, though, is clearly not abandoned – there's a swimming pool shimmering in the sun, furniture draped with towels – one red, one yellow and Barry is getting a strange feeling about the residents of this place.

They stop at the tree line, and Barry pulls Thawne back as he moves to approaches the house. A door opens and two men step outside.

They are close enough to see faces, close enough to see the glint of gold on ring fingers, close enough to read the love and affection shared by these two. 

Close enough to recognize their own faces.

This other Eobard pulls his doppelganger into his arms and kisses him and Barry bites his lip to stifle a gasp. It's not just a kiss; it's an expression of intent, of passion. This other Barry kisses Eobard's doppelganger back and even from the distance, Barry can see that there's a playful fight for dominance here. Both men are naked and this other Eobard's hand, the one with the gold band, is on his doppelganger's ass, stroking and squeezing and …

"I think the universe hates me," Thawne – his Thawne – grinds out. This is a most illogical sentiment from his nemesis, his sworn enemy, the man who created him for the sole purpose of destroying him.

Barry tears his eyes away from the couple – they've moved to one of the couches and are enthusiastically rutting against each other. His own face feels as hot as fire, as red as his suit, but he glances at Thawne and is shocked.

Eobard is pale, his lips pursed so tightly that there's a ring of blue around them. His eyes are blazing, but not with anger – with grief. Eobard blinks and tears run down his cheeks.

Barry feels like he's been punched.

"Is this it? Is this what happened?" 

"No." That one syllable is so fraught, so laden with emotion.

Barry gets up and pulls Eobard away, he picks him up and speeds through the forest, back the way they came. Barry comes to a halt and Eobard twists out of his arms. Barry almost expects him to run away, to punch him, to restart their battle.

Instead, he stands there, panting, still crying, hunched into himself. He looks like a fatally wounded animal and whatever hatred Barry has borne for the Reverse-Flash dies.

"You loved me. Did I betray you?"

Eobard shakes his head. "No, no, no. Once, in another timeline, you smiled at me, you treated me as an equal, but you never _saw_ me. You didn't love me. I loved you but I was invisible."

Of all the reasons Barry imagines over the years, he never imagines this. 

Eobard wipes his face clean of tears, he raises his chin and stares at Barry, pain and defiance and resignation etched in his pose. "End this now. You know how to do it."

"You're wrong."

Eobard blinks. "What do you mean?"

"I've always seen you." Barry swallows. "The man – the Flash – you fell in love with, the one who hurt you so badly, no longer exists. You changed that timeline when you created me. I've hated you but I've hated myself too, because I've never been able to stop loving you.

"At the end, so long ago, when I asked you why, when you refused to lie but wouldn't give me the truth I needed, I still loved you. When you told me you killed my mother, I still loved you. We've been fighting for centuries, and I've never not loved you."

Part of Barry, the part that's been worn thin by all the decades of endless, pointless battle, wonders if he's walking into a final trap. Eobard Thawne has always been a master manipulator, but he can't believe that this is a manipulation. He thinks he'd rather die by his Reverse's hand if this has been a lie.

Eobard's tone is sad, resigned, "We can't undo what I've done, Flash."

"I know."

"I've killed too many people, Barry. I have justified my actions with the sickest of rationales." For the first time in their long acquaintance, Eobard Thawne sounds ashamed of what he's done.

Barry thinks this is the pivot point for their future. "Do you regret what you've done?"

"Now, yes."

Barry approaches Eobard, he touches the other man's cheek, his thumb wiping away the tears. "I'll never trust you. But I do love you, Eobard Thawne. I always have, and I always will

Eobard doesn't say anything and Barry fears he's said too much, given away too much. That this is all a lie. That this is just another betrayal. But Eobard shakes his head and smiles – a rueful expression. He finally says, "You shouldn't."

"I know, but I also know that it is possible for us to love and be happy." He tilts his head back towards that familiar house." He picks up Eobard's hand and lets it rest against his heart.

Eobard gasps, "I thought you said you'll never trust me."

Barry smiles. "Prove me wrong."

__

FIN


End file.
